Monday, June 12, 2006

Are Jewish Bands Price Gouging?

Anon writes:
I know that you are in the business, so it might be a hard thing to do, but its time someone really opened up transparency into the price gouging of the big bands. It just doesn't seem reasonable that fun decent entertainment at a wedding needs to cost the price of an Oldsmobile! It makes no sense!

Why are some people in the entertainment business the wealthiest in their communities (and some far from it)?
It's not hard to address at all. There is no price gouging in the Jewish music market, period. You can price gouge on milk, gas, oil, and other staples that people need and can't get elsewhere. That's why monopolies and price gouging go together. There is no longer a monopoly in the Jewish simcha band scene here in NY. There's no oligopoly either.

In the local JM wedding field, there are many options and if the band you'd like to hire is quoting too high a price, there is always another band available at a lower rate. Obviously, within reason. You can always go elsewhere.

I'd like to turn the question around. How much do you think a band should cost?